wiper

1 of 2

noun (1)

wip·​er ˈwī-pər How to pronounce wiper (audio)
1
: a person who wipes
2
a
: something (such as a towel or sponge) used for wiping
b
: a moving contact for making connections with the terminals of an electrical device (such as a rheostat)
c
: a usually motor-driven arm with a flexible blade for wiping a window (such as the windshield of an automobile or airplane)

wiper

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural wipers
: a hybrid striped bass that is a cross between a female striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and a male white bass (Morone chrysops) and is silvery-white with dark usually discontinuous or irregular horizontal stripes along the sides

Note: The wiper has an aggressive nature and is bred chiefly as a sport fish for stocking lakes, streams, and reservoirs.

White bass and striped bass have solid stripes on their bodies. The hybrid fish, also called wipers or whiterock bass, have broken horizontal stripes, grow larger than white bass and are more tolerant of warm water than stripers.D'Arcy Egan
While wipers are far from unpalatable, their flesh is of a coarser texture and tastes a little more "fishy" than crappie or walleye fillets.Steve Davis

called also palmetto bass, whiterock bass

compare sunshine bass

Examples of wiper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
Like a lot of people, he was getting increasingly frustrated by the fact that his car lacked a rear window wiper. New Atlas, 27 Sep. 2024 But other cyberattacks, such as waves of wiper malware infections targeting Ukrainian networks, have had far smaller impacts than previous disruptive hacking operations that have pummeled Ukraine since 2014. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 12 Apr. 2022 McAfee caught most of them but missed one file-encrypting ransomware attack and one whole-disk wiper, despite having all possible protective layers enabled. PCMAG, 3 Oct. 2024 The variant lacks a rear fog light and window wiper but does have xenon headlights up front and an adjustable rear wing in the back. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for wiper 

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

w- (from white bass) + (str)iper

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1978, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wiper was in 1552

Dictionary Entries Near wiper

Cite this Entry

“Wiper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wiper. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

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